On November 21^st, members of the Global EMBA class of 2015 gathered in Shanghai to celebrate the 5^th anniversary since the start of their journey with CEIBS.

Five years ago, 56 aspiring executives came together in Shanghai to begin their learning journey at CEIBS. Today they continued that journey, once again renewing their commitment as an indispensable part in each other’s life — friends to share in growth and reflection.

The celebration was kicked off by the host, Jinyuan Li, an alumna of the class. CEIBS Associate Professor of Strategy Zhang Yu gave an in-depth lecture on the topic of “Prediction and Shaping of Industry Changes”. Prof. Zhang analyzed a number of case studies on traditional and emerging industries worldwide, providing the alumni with insights on the development and trends of business models. One of his key messages is that organisations still need to focus on building their irreplaceable core competitive advantages in the ever-changing world. A further critical factor for business today is the ability to influence or shape trends in industries by paying attention to the positive feedback from network externalities. He also concluded that innovation remains the key drive of substantial changes in the business world today. This intense three hour session was intense and inspirational for both the Professor and the alumni.

CEIBS President (European), Professor Dipak C. Jain, joined the event virtually as a surprise guest of honour. He extended his heartfelt wishes to the Global EMBA class of 2015. He then shared the future plans and strategic areas of focus that CEIBS has for the next five years. Professor Jain emphasized once again that alumni are the most valuable asset of CEIBS, and the institution is fully committed to building a life-long learning community for all alumni.

The class of 2015 made a video dedicated to the reunion, celebrating theirs growth and gains from the last 5 years, including messages from fellow students who could not be there in person.

Class President Gareth Yu shared with the class his unforgettable experience in the Gobi Challenge, an annual event where business school students and alumni race through the Gobi Desert over several days. He recalled the challenges, struggles, gains and self-realization of the Gobi team. Wendy Wong then laid out the eagerly anticipated hiking event in December. Just like the other events held within the Global EMBA community, the hiking aims to create an opportunity for alumni to reconnect and continue the learning journey beyond graduation.

Isa Luo, Director of the CEIBS Global EMBA program, shared with the students the unwavering efforts that the CEIBS team has made to address the challenges brought by the pandemic and to ensure that students were able to continue their learning without any disruption. Isa expressed her gratitude to Global EMBA 2015 as they have demonstrated incredible trust and support to the programme throughout their journey, and brought great energy and enthusiasm to the Global EMBA family. The programme was recently ranked #2 globally in the Financial Times EMBA ranking, and this would not have been possible without the contribution of our alumni.